Kero's Idea
by MischiefLily
Summary: Kero wants to play a video game but instead sends Sakura and Syaoran into it with Eriol's help! Ruby Moon and Yue still hate each other's guts... or do they? SxS, RubyxYue. It's better than it sounds, so Please R&R, but no flames plz! FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

Chappy 1

It all started with 3:00 a.m. and nothing to do. Kero lie in his tiny bed inside a drawer in Sakura's room, tossing and turning. Sakura had claimed before going to bed that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep because he'd eaten so much chocolate, but that's not why Kero believed he was awake. _'I've beaten every video game Sakura has… except for one!' _He scolded himself. _'But I can't even play it, because Sakura doesn't play with me and the game needs two players!' _He folded his arms. _'Why is she so mean…?' _he thought. He stared at the drawer wall in front of him. He _had _to find a way to play that game. He _had _to!

Kero flew out of his drawer quietly and landed on Sakura's desk. He picked up the game box. 'Swordsman's Kin' was the name of the game. He set the box back down. Just as he was going to go back to his bed and try fruitlessly to get some sleep, he noticed the Book of Clow lying next to the game. _'Maybe I could get the mirror card to play with me,' _Kero thought. But then he realized that if the mirror card mimicked Sakura, she'd be just as bad at video games as Sakura was. He stared at the book for a while longer, and finally, an idea slowly crept its way into his mind. An idea… that might actually work. Quiet as a mouse, he grabbed the game, flew over to the window and, checking to make sure Sakura was sound asleep, pushed it open and flew outside.

Later…

"Clow!" Kero called, floating through the halls of the mansion. "Are you in here?"

A door opened, and Ruby Moon stepped out. "Ungh, what's with all the yelling at three a.m.…" she moaned, rubbing her eyes. Then she spotted Kero. "Oh, hello Kero-chaaaan!" she chirped. "Did you wanna talk to Suppi?"

"Not this time," Kero said. "I'm looking for Clow."

Ruby looked thoughtful. "Oh, you mean Eriol-kun… Well, I know he was gonna go to bed late, but he might be sleeping by now," she said. "You could check, though. I don't think he'd mind if you woke him up, considering he made you and all…" She trailed off and sauntered back into her room sleepily, closing the door behind her.

A dim, flickering light was coming from a room up ahead. The door was open only a crack, but Kero shrugged and flew over to it. Pulling the door open, he saw that he had found who he was looking for. "Clow," Kero said, floating across the room toward him.

Clow was sitting at a desk with a single candle lit next to him, writing something on a piece of paper. He put down his pen. "Please," he said, "Call me Eriol. Though I may have Clow's memories, I'm technically not Clow…"

"Whatever," Kero said, annoyed. "I have a favor to ask."

"Yes?" Eriol asked.

Kero's face became determined. "CAN YOU SEND ME INSIDE OF A VIDEO GAME?!" he asked.

Eriol stared at him for a moment and then started to laugh. "You came here at three a.m. just to ask me to send you into a video game?" he said. Laughing harder, he added, "I bet this is because you ate too much chocolate before bed again, isn't it?"

Kero's face reddened. "I did NOT eat chocolate!…Much…But that's not the point! Can you send me inside the game or not?!"

Eriol seemed to regain most of his composure, although he snickered occasionally throughout his sentence. He took the game box from Kero and looked at the back. "This game looks like it needs two players," he said.

"Yeah," Kero said, "but I was hoping that if I was in it then I could just do everything myself-"

"You'd never survive," Eriol interjected. "It looks like there are several cases where there are so many enemies charging at you at once that you'd need two people in combat to even have a chance to fend them off."

"Uhh," Kero said, "Well… You could come with me!"

Eriol laughed again. "Silly Keroberos… I have better things to do than go inside a video game with you. Why don't you go with Yue?"

"You know he'd just say 'that's ridiculous' and walk away," Kero whined.

"Well go with Spinel then," Eriol said.

"NO!" Kero screamed, "I don't wanna go with Suppi! He's my rival, not my friend!!"

Eriol looked back down at his desk. "Well, I guess you're out of luck then…"

"No! I'll… I'll think of something! I…" Kero stopped dead. "Wait…" A sly look crossed his face. "If _I _can't go into the game… Maybe Sakura and that kid can!"

Eriol looked back up, interested. "Hmm… You may have something there. I _do _love mischief," he said, smirking. "…Okay, I'll do it. But on one condition."

"What?" Kero said. "Anything!"

Eriol smiled. "I get to watch the game, too."

Kero stared at him for a long time. "…Okay," he finally said, "You-"

"And Ruby Moon," Eriol interjected with a smile.

"I… Okay. But not Suppi," he said. "Suppi can't come!"

Eriol thought for a moment. "All right," he finally said. "I think I can convince Spinel to stay here. I'll just tell him he has the whole day to himself, and he'll probably agree. …And if I tell him _you'll _be there, he'll _definitely _stay home."

"Okay," Kero said, "Then it's settled. You, me, and Ruby Moon will come to watch Sakura and that kid play the ultimate video game!! Sakura said her dad has a business trip tomorrow, and her brother is staying late at his part-time job, so we'll do it tomorrow. I'll get Sakura to invite the kid over, and all you have to do is come and send them inside the game!"

Eriol grinned. "Excellent," he said. "But what about Yue?"

"What about 'im?" Kero asked.

"I think he'll want to come, too."

Kero was confused. "Why would he care about a dumb video game? Unless… he wants to watch out for Sakura's safety…"

"Bingo," Eriol said. "But he trusts me to protect Sakura-san, too, and I'll be there. I think he'll come for a different reason..."

"Huh? What reason?" Kero asked.

Eriol walked over to his desk and picked up the piece of paper. "I explained everything in this letter – the whole video game plan, when and where it will happen… and everyone who's coming. And as long as he knows _who's_ coming… I'm almost sure he'll be there."

"But," Kero asked, "Didn't you write that letter before I got here?"

Eriol just smiled and said, "It's fun having magic powers."

Kero stared. "So… You knew I was gonna come here…"

"And I know you ate chocolate," Eriol added.

"I didn't… Aww, it's no use," Kero said, defeated. "Anyway, be there tomorrow."

Eriol smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

And so, Kero flew out the window and back to Sakura's house. Eriol enchanted the letter he'd written, and it flew to Yukito's house. _'When Yukito touches that letter, he'll transform into Yue,' _he thought. _'And if he knows Ruby will be there… Well, I have a feeling he'll come.' _He smiled one last time and blew out his candle. "Let the games begin!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chappy 2

"Wake up, monster. Breakfast is ready."

Sakura's eyes flicked open. "Coming, Onii-chan…" she said sleepily. "And I'm not a monster!"

"Sure you are" was Touya's answer. Sakura heard his footsteps fade farther and farther away as he went downstairs.

Sakura groaned as she changed into her clothes. "Onii-chan's so mean…" She spotted Kero, sound asleep in his little bed. "I'll let him sleep in today," she said. "After all, he probably didn't fall asleep until late because of the chocolate." She put on her slippers and went downstairs.

Touya set some eggs in front of her as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Otousan already left during the night on his business trip," He reminded her. "And don't forget, I'm staying late at my part-time, so you'll be all alone until nine or ten o'clock…" He cast a glance in Sakura's direction as he prepared his breakfast. "Try not to destroy the house."

She glared at him. "What makes you think I'd do that?!"

Touya smirked. "Because you're a monster."

"I am NOT a monster!!" Sakura shrieked. Touya just laughed and sat down with his own breakfast.

"Itadakimasu," they both said. They ate their eggs in silence. Finally, Touya put his plate in the sink, put his shoes on, and headed for the door. "Bye monster," he called.

"I'm not a monster!" Sakura called back, and she heard the door close. Finishing her eggs, she put her plate in the sink and began to scrub it. _'Wow, for once I'm all alone,' _She thought.

"Hey Sakura-"

"Waaaah!" Sakura swirled around behind her to where the voice had come from – and ended up whacking Kero in the face with a plate. Seeing his tail hanging out from behind it, she quickly took it away. "Kero-chan, are you okay?"

"G-Guh…" said Kero, falling to the floor.

Sakura picked him up. "Sorry Kero-chan…"

Kero shook his head, shaking off the blow. "Why'd you hit me with a plate?!" he asked, annoyed.

"I… kinda forgot you existed…" Sakura said. Realizing how stupid that sounded, she added, "Onii-chan left, and I thought I was alone, and-"

"It's okay," Kero said, "The condition of my beautiful face doesn't matter... much. What matters is, you should invite that kid over if you're lonely!"

"Oh… you mean Syaoran-kun? But… I thought you hated him," Sakura said, confused.

"Well… he's okay, for a kid," Kero admitted halfheartedly. "So are you gonna invite him, or not?"

"Uh, okay! Thanks for thinking of the idea, Kero-chan!"

Kero struck a pose. "Well, I _do _come up with great ideas…"

While Sakura dialed Syaoran's number, Kero thought, _'Everything's going perfectly! Now, I wonder when Clow will show up…'_

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. "Dang he's good," Kero muttered.

"Oh, that's the doorbell," Sakura said to Syaoran. "Um, you can just come when you're ready, okay? …Yep! Okay bye!" She hung up the phone and raced around the corner toward the door. "Coming!" she yelled.

She opened the door to reveal Eriol. "Ohayo, Sakura-san!" he said in his charming, non-Clow voice.

"Ah, o-ohayo, Eriol-kun! This is a surprise! But um… Don't you have… a different voice…?" Sakura hesitantly asked.

"Yes, but I like this voice better," Eriol said.

"B-But…" Sakura stammered, "Isn't that your… _fake_ voice…?"

"No," Eriol said, "It's Eriol's voice. The other voice is Clow's."

"Oh, I see," Sakura said. "That's why you still use that voice at school, too… But, uh, you can come in, if you want… it might be a little messy…"

"Oh, I don't mind," Eriol said. "My house is probably messier."

"Your house? Messy?" Sakura asked, non-believing.

"Oh yes," Eriol said. "I'm quite different than you might think." He smiled as Kero rounded the corner. "Why, hello," he said grinning broadly.

Sakura turned around. "Oh, hi Kero-chan," she said, not really paying attention. "You can come in, Eriol-kun!"

"Arigatou," Eriol said politely. "May Ruby come in, too?"

Sakura cocked her head. "Eh…? Ruby…?"

"Ah, I mean, Akizuki-san," Eriol said. "Remember? She's actually Ruby Moon."

Ruby jumped down from the roof. "Ohayo kusainimaaaass!!" she sang.

Sakura stared at her ruby red hair and her big, black butterfly wings. "Ah… yeah… I think I remember, but… _you're _Akizuki-san?"

Upon hearing this, Eriol took out his staff and changed her to her human false form. "Yup! Nakuru Akizuki, that's me!" Ruby said. "Well, that's my fake name, anyways." She tried to look past Sakura. "Touya-kun's not in there, is he?" She giggled. "He's fun to annoy!" Her smile turned to one of mischief. "But so is Yue…"

"You can both come in!" Sakura said. "But… um… I'm expecting another visitor-" At that moment, Syaoran rounded the corner onto the street. "Ah! Ohayo, Syaoran-kuuuun!"

Syaoran's head turned toward the noise and he jogged up to the door. "Ohayo, Sakura…" His gaze jerked over to Eriol. "What are _you _doing here…?" he asked, obviously ticked.

Eriol just smiled. "I happened to be around and thought I'd stop by."

"Um, um… please come in, everybody!" Sakura said. "I'll get some tea ready!"

"Oh, I'll help you, Sakura-san," Eriol said.

Syaoran gritted his teeth. "You don't have to, Hiragizawa, _I'll _help her." He narrowed his eyes at Eriol.

Eriol shrugged. He'd already gotten a plentiful display of Syaoran's jealousy. "Suit yourself," he said. Ruby giggled.

With one last glare at Eriol, Syaoran stormed into the kitchen to help Sakura. Kero flew up to Eriol. "It won't be long, now," he said.

"Yes," Eriol said, looking from Kero to Ruby. "I have a feeling that today… we're going to have a whole lot of fun."


	3. Chapter 3

Chappy 3

"That was delicious!" Ruby exclaimed. "It was waaaaaaaay better than the tea _I_ always make! Mine's always so bitter!"

"I agree," Eriol said. "It _was_ better than Ruby's!" Ruby gave him a look.

"Ah ha ha… Arigatou," Sakura said, "But, Syaoran-kun helped me… That's why it's so good!"

"All I did was put the tea bags in," Syaoran retorted.

"Well all I did was boil the water, Syaoran-kun!"

Syaoran sweatdropped. "I guess you don't really need two people to make tea…"

"Well then why was it so much better than mine?" Ruby asked. Eriol snickered. Slowly Ruby looked at him, then screamed, "HAVE YOU BEEN ADDING SOMETHING BITTER TO MY TEA EVERY TIME?!"

"Maybe," Eriol said passively. Sakura sweatdropped. Ignoring Ruby Moon's fury, Eriol said, "Sakura-san, do you have any video games?"

"Um, yeah," Sakura said. She paused. "You like video games?"

"Oh yes," Eriol enthused. "They just have to be… _interesting _enough." He glanced in Kero's direction.

"Well, I'll show you what I have," Sakura said. "Maybe you can play with Syaoran-kun!"

Syaoran glared at Eriol with fire in his eyes. Eriol smiled that 'it's fun having a rivalry with you' smile. And thus, they all went upstairs, Ruby still fuming.

They reached Sakura's room, and Eriol picked up a controller. It glowed red for about a half-second, but nobody seemed to notice except Kero. Eriol felt the controller for a couple seconds with his fingers and then said, "I like the other one better!" He grabbed the second controller and it glowed in the same way. Kero tried to hold back his laughing. "Okay, Li," he said, "Grab your controller!" Syaoran picked up his controller, and Eriol's face became thoughtful. "Actually…" he said, "I'd like to see _you _play a game with him, Sakura-san!" He handed his controller to her.

"B-But, I'm not good at video games…" Sakura said still in shock.

"That's okay," Eriol said. "I'd like to see you both play this game!" He picked up 'Swordsman's Kin.'

"But I've never even played that game!" Sakura cried out.

"That's _still_ okay," Eriol said excitedly, grinning ear-to-ear. "This game is two-player, so Li will help you out! After all, he _is _good with a sword!"

Syaoran sweatdropped. "How does that matter? I stink at video games, too. It's not as if I'll actually be using my sword-"

"On the contrary," Eriol interrupted, "I think you'll be using it quite a lot!"

"Eh…? You're crazy…" Syaoran said to him.

Now Eriol smiled his mischief smile. "On the contrary _again,_" he murmured, this time in his Clow voice, "I think I know what I'm doing." And with that, he opened the CD drive, put the game in, and hit the power switch.

…Nothing happened.

"Man, you're _really _crazy…" Syaoran said, but before he could call Eriol anything else, he and Sakura were sucked into the TV.

Yue suddenly burst through the door and into the room, pointing at Eriol and waving a piece of paper in the air. "Clow, this was a joke, right?! You didn't really…" He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he saw Ruby sitting on Sakura's bed.

"Hiya moon boy," she said smiling evilly.

Yue just stared straight at her, not moving a muscle. His left arm was still in the air clutching the paper, his right arm was still pointing at Eriol, and his face was the most terrifying mixture of fear, disbelief, horror, and complete and utter defeat that anyone had ever seen. His eye twitched twice, and finally he just fell over. Taking into account his height, his long white robes, and his wings, he pretty much took up most of the floor. "And today goes up in flames," he muttered.

Ruby made a fake pouting face. "Aww, is wittle Yue all sad now?" she mocked.

Yue lifted up his head and held his torso up with his arms. "Oh yes, you can tell how _sad _I am. Just look at my _face!_" He then glowered at Ruby.

"Ooooh, look who's got an attitude!" Ruby exclaimed. "When did _you _go to bed last night, mister hilarious? Oh yeah, I forgot. You don't even have _control _over when you go to bed, 'cause your false form's got his _own _life!"

Yue's expression darkened. "Watch it, butterfly girl," he growled.

Ruby examined her nail job. "Wow, I'm real scared, now. I'd better, oh, I don't know, tell my _mommy _on you or something."

"You don't _have _a mother!" Yue screamed.

"Exactly," Ruby said. "That's how scared I am."

Yue sighed in disgust. "Thanks for flushing my day down the toilet," he grumbled, getting up.

"Oh, you're welcome," Ruby said. "Would you like me to flush your head down there with it?"

Just as Yue was about to send another insult at her, Eriol said, "Yue… Ruby… Stop it now. Sakura-san and Li are going to wake up any minute. And Yue, if you like Ruby _that _much, you could just _tell_ her instead of fighting."

"What?! Are you out of your _mind, _Clow?!" Yue screeched.

Eriol seemed to think about this for a moment. "Well, I don't think so, and judging by the fact that you never scream except when you're around Ruby, and your face is cherry red right now…"

Yue punched Eriol on the top of the head, knocking him to the floor.

"I could be out of my mind, though…" Eriol said in defeat.

Ruby started to laugh. "Heh, nice one, lover boy. You gonna kiss me now?"

Yue turned and looked at her coolly. "No. Clow needs to be sent to the insane asylum."

"Well maybe I do," Eriol said getting up, "But we should watch Sakura-san and Li play first. They're about to wake up."

"How come you answer to 'Clow' when Yue calls you it, but not when I call you it?" Kero asked Eriol in annoyance.

"I have no idea, okay? But we have to watch them now! Look, they're getting up!"

Everyone turned to look at the television, and Sakura and Syaoran finally opened their eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chappy 4

"Ugh, what happened?" Syaoran asked rubbing his head.

"I don't know… Where are we?" Sakura asked. There was blackness all around them.

"Sakura-san!" came an echoing voice. "Can you hear me?"

"Eh…? Eriol-kun? Where are you, Eriol-kun?" Sakura asked.

"I am in your room," Eriol answered.

"Well… where are _we?_" Syaoran demanded.

"You're inside the video game, kid." Kero answered. "So are you, Sakura."

"Eh… We're… _inside the game?!_" Sakura yelled in disbelief.

"Hai!" Eriol said. "Look up!"

Sakura and Syaoran turned their gaze upward and saw a bunch of big white letters. "What do they say?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura pulled out her star wand. "I don't know. I'll go check." She took out a Sakura card. "Fly!" Sakura's wings appeared and she flew up to the letters. She hovered in front of them in silence. "…Syaoran-kun?" she finally said.

"What?" Syaoran asked.

"…It says 'Swordsman's Kin', Syaoran-kun." She landed back on the ground in front of him, and her wings disappeared and went back into the card. Suddenly she grabbed him by the shoulders and started to shake him. "_IT SAYS 'SWORDSMAN'S KIN', SYAORAN-KUN!!_"

"Sakura-chan, calm down!"

Sakura stopped shaking Syaoran. "Eh…? A female voice…?" She thought for a minute but then realized who it was. "Ah! Akizu… Er… Ruby-san?"

"Haaaaai!!" Ruby sang. "Anyway Sakura-chan, all you have to do to get out of the game is win!"

"Move it, Ruby…" Came another male voice. There was the sound of someone falling on the floor, and an 'Oof! You meanie! Don't push me off the bed!' "I'll do what I want," said the voice.

"Is that…?" Syaoran started, but Sakura already knew who it was.

"Yue-san?! You're there too?!"

"Yes," Yue said, "Unfoutunately."

"If you don't wanna be here, why don't you leave, punk?" Ruby's voice hissed.

"I'm watching out for Sakura. Live with it or don't live at all. And should you choose the second option, I can take care of that for you."

"Oooooh, is that a threat?"

"People, people, focus here!" Eriol instructed. "Poor Sakura-san is confused and you two are just fighting instead of helping!"

"Why do they all act like I don't exist…?" Syaoran muttered.

"Fine," Yue said to Eriol, ignoring Syaoran. "Anyway Sakura, we've tried pressing the start button, but we can't seem to get off the title screen. And since Clow sent you into a game that_ none of us knows how to play…!_"

"Geez, it's no big deal," Eriol told him. "Kero's looking up an internet walkthrough, anyway."

"Aha!" Kero's voice said. "To start the game, you must destroy all the letters on the title screen!"

Sakura looked up at the big white letters. "Hmm… Ah! I know!" Sakura took out a card and threw it in the air. "Shot!" Shot came out of its card, and Sakura said, "Shot, aim at the white letters!" Bang! Bang! Bang! One by one, the letters were shattered. As soon as the last one was broken, the black screen changed, and Sakura and Syaoran found themselves high atop a mountain.

Words started to appear in front of them. "This must be the opening video," Syaoran said. He started to read the words. "Long, long ago, there was a small civilization. They lived in peace and harmony until one fateful day, when a mighty black dragon escaped from the underworld. The dragon rampaged about and destroyed the town, killing all but a few people. The strongest swordsman in the town challenged the dragon, but after a while, he knew he'd lose the battle. He cast a spell and trapped the dragon in a magical prison, but not before he was engulfed in a plume of fire."

"THIS GAME IS _SCAAAAARYYYYYY!!!!_" Sakura wailed. While Syaoran tried to comfort her, Eriol continued to read the words.

"Some of the only survivors were the relatives of the swordsman. They fled the town and went far, far away, and finally settled in a new place. Years later, a boy and a girl who were successors of the swordsman felt drawn to go back to the place where their ancestor had died. They met each other at the remains of the old civilization and, both being skilled in the way of the sword, decided to find the dragon and slay him once and for all."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Sakura cried. "I DON'T WANNA PLAY THIS GAME!!!"

"Sakura, c'mon, we can do this," Syaoran said. "The sooner we do, the sooner we'll get out!"

Sakura sniffed. "Well… maybe…"

"Hey," Eriol said, "You need appropriate outfits!"

"Eh…? _Why?!_" Syaoran asked, but before anyone could say anything else, Eriol raised his staff. Syaoran was suddenly wearing his traditional green robe, and Sakura her prince outfit from her school play when Syaoran was the princess.

"Why this?" Sakura asked.

Eriol smiled. "It was cute, fitting for this game, and looks easy to move around in!"

Sakura, Syaoran, Kero, Ruby, and Yue all sweatdropped. "When did you become a complete psycho…?" Yue asked Eriol.

"Oh, that happened back when I was still Clow!" Eriol cheerfully said, as if it wasn't a bad thing.

"Well, Sakura-chan's outfit _is _cute…" Ruby commented. "But that still doesn't mean you aren't kinda loopy, Eriol-kun…"

"Wait! There're a couple more words on the screen!" Kero said. He started to read them. "But the dragon sensed their determination, and released upon them his evil… army of… minions…" Kero stared at the screen. "That's probably not good."

"OF COURSE IT'S NOT GOOD! IT'S _HORRIBLE…!_" Sakura sobbed. She leaned on Syaoran, who almost lost his balance.

"Hey, get a hold of yourself, Sakura! Don't knock me off the mountain! Then you'll have to play this game without me!"

"Sakura-san and friend," came Eriol's voice.

"My name's Li, you know!" Syaoran called.

"I don't care," Eriol said. "Do you see a dragon?"

Syaoran and Sakura looked out into the distance and their eyes widened. Sakura started to shake uncontrollably. She gripped Syaoran like she was holding on for dear life. "No," Syaoran said, "but we _do _see a giant army of evil minions."


	5. Chapter 5

Chappy 5

"How do you expect them to survive?!" Yue yelled.

Ruby frowned. "Hey, stop underestimating poor Sakura-chan! She's been through worse… probably."

"What do you _mean_ stop underestimating her? She's shaking like a naked puppy in the middle of a blizzard!"

"Wow. That was a _great_ metaphor. If that's how good you are at literature, it's no wonder you stink at life."

Eriol sweatdropped. "Wow, you guys must like each other even more than I thought…"

"_What?_!" Ruby and Yue shrieked in unison. Eriol snickered.

"Hellooo, we kind of need help here!" Syaoran called.

"THEY'RE GONNA EAT US!! THEY'RE GONNA_ KILL _US!!! WE'RE GONNA _DIE!!!!_" Sakura screeched.

"Not if you get down there and do somethin' about 'em," Kero said.

"Buh- buh- buh-…"

"Come on, Sakura," Syaoran said gingerly. "I'm sure we can do it. Now let's get down there."

"I… I… Okay…" Sakura reluctantly agreed. "Float!" Sakura and Syaoran were enveloped in a floating pink sphere and carried down the mountain. "I know!" Sakura said. "Why don't we just float over the army?" She directed float back upwards, but before they got past, they seemed to run into something, even though there was nothing but air in front of them.

"Hey, what gives?" Syaoran asked annoyed. They tried again and again but still couldn't get past the same spot.

"You've reached the boundary of the level," Eriol's voice explained. "Nothing past there actually exists in the game, so you'll just have to fight the monsters."

Sakura sulked. "For once I thought my idea would work…" They landed on the ground in front of the advancing army. "How're we gonna win?" Sakura asked. "It's two against like… a gajillion!"

"We'll do it somehow," Syaoran said, pulling out his sword. He looked her in the eyes. "But if you get hurt, promise me you'll yell."

Sakura stared at him for a moment and then smiled warmly. "Thank you for worrying about me," she said.

Syaoran turned his head back to the advancing monsters. "Wh-whatever," he said, blushing.

"Stop having a love affair and fight," Kero moaned. "Especially you, kid."

"What?!" Syaoran yelled, "I'm not-"

"Syaoran-kun, look out!"

"Eh?!" Syaoran turned swiftly around, only to be smacked in the face with a club. He was sent tumbling backwards and finally landed on his back. He sat up, but he seemed dazed.

"That's what happens when you let your guard down!" Kero laughed.

Sakura was using the sword card and knocking goblins and monsters this way and that. "Quiet, Kero-chan, you were the one who made him let his guard down!" she yelled back. Sakura had killed most of the creatures in the front, but there were more just a few feet behind. She ran over to Syaoran. "Are you okay, Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran blinked and then shook his head, shaking off the blow. "Yeah, I'm all right. Good job with your sword, though."

"Ah ha ha… that's because I watched you so many times, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran felt his ears get red. "Stop saying things like that," he said as he stood up.

"Eh? Why?" Sakura asked.

"He is not very good at keeping his focus when you're around, Sakura-san," Eriol's voice laughed.

"Shut up, Hiragizawa," Syaoran growled, slicing some goblins to kingdom come.

Sakura shrugged and they kept fighting. "Aaaah, there's too many!" Sakura said after a while. "I'm getting tired, Syaoran-kun!"

Syaoran kept slicing and throwing in the occasional kick. "Me too," he said between breaths, "I don't know if I can do this for much longer…"

"You need some way to wipe them all out at once," came Yue's voice.

"All at once…" Sakura repeated, thinking hard. "Ah! That's it! Syaoran-kun, get out of the way!"

Syaoran didn't object. He ran backwards several yards. "I hope you know what you're doing!" He called.

"Yep!" Sakura told him. She pulled out a card. "Big!" she yelled. And she grew, and grew, and grew, until the monsters were like ants. "Where are you, Syaoran-kun?" she asked, afraid of stepping on him. Syaoran used his magic to send a stream of fire straight up from where he was. "All right," Sakura said to herself. She looked down at the ant-like goblins. "Well… here I go!" She lifted her foot and… BAM! BAM! BAM! Sakura stomped down as hard as she could on all the monsters. "Die…you…little…pests!" she said between stomps. Syaoran kept sending up streams of fire so he wouldn't get squashed.

Eriol was laughing his head off. "This is hilarious!!" He turned to Kero. "I'm glad you had this idea!"

Yue slowly turned his head to Kero. "This was…_ YOUR IDEA?!!_" He roared with fire in his eyes. "Why are you trying to get Sakura killed?!"

"My my, we certainly have a temper today, don't we?" Ruby asked. "Your false form musta went to bed at like four a.m. or something."

Yue whipped around to face Ruby. "Don't make me hurt you…"

"Well if you aren't trying to hurt me already, then that must mean you _do_ like me!" Ruby said.

Yue's face turned pink. "You're _mad!!!_" he screamed.

"Well you told Eriol-kun he was out of his mind and you told me I'm mad, but you haven't directly denied it yet," Ruby said. "If you don't like me, tell me you don't."

For a split second, a look of panic crossed Yue's face, but he quickly thought of a comeback. "Who's to say _you _don't like _me?!_"

Ruby looked aghast. "Me? Hah! The day I'd like _you _is the day you could _beat_ me!"

Yue smirked. "Wow. Either you're really confident in your power, or you _do _like me."

"As _if _I'd like _you,_" Ruby scoffed. "I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last guy on _Earth_!"

"Oh really," Yue said, floating into the air and summoning his magic bow and arrow. "Let's find out if you're lying."

Realizing she was still in her human form, Ruby whirled around and shot a look at Eriol. "U-um, Eriol-kun? Can you…?"

Yue's bow and arrow disappeared and he burst out laughing. "Haha, I forgot! You can't even change into your true form without Clow doing it _for _you! Hahahaha!"

Ruby rolled her eyes and glanced at Eriol, who smirked and changed her to her true form while Yue was still laughing.

"Hahaha, heh—Oof!" Yue was sent flying backwards and slammed into the door as he was hit with a barrage of dark crystals. "Talk about letting your guard down," Ruby said.

"Clow! What'd you change her for?!" Yue yelled.

Ruby smirked. "You _know_ he always takes _my _side, cuz he likes _me_ better than _you_," she said.

Yue's teeth snapped together as he leaped up and summoned his own crystals. "Why you…!"

"Please don't fight in my room!!" Sakura wailed. Yue and Ruby both instantly stopped what they were doing and stared at the TV. Sakura was small again and all the goblins were gone. "U-Um, I heard what you were saying, and-"

"Gomenasai," Ruby and Yue said at exactly the same time. They turned to each other surprised, both blushed a little, and then turned swiftly away and crossed their arms. Eriol snickered, knowing exactly what was going on.

Kero, on the other hand, was oblivious. "Yay! You beat all the monsters, Sakura! That was awesome, using the big card!"

"Hey, I helped too!" Syaoran said, rubbing his injured nose.

Kero looked bored. "Sakura killed most of 'em."

"Why you…" Syaoran started to growl, but before he could say anything else Sakura stopped him. She looked from side to side, taking in her surroundings, and finally she asked one simple question.

"What do we do now?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chappy 6

"Well, I've never played this game," Eriol said, "But I'm guessing you should look for the dragon now, Sakura-san."

"There they go ignoring my existence again…" Syaoran mumbled kicking a stone. He looked up and nearly fell over backwards when he saw Sakura's smiling face inches from his.

"Don't worry Syaoran-kun, I know you're here!" she said. "And even if Kero-chan says you weren't much help, he doesn't know what he's talking about since he's not inside the game." Her eyes got that look of warm happiness and she smiled like an angel. "I would be really scared if you weren't here."

Syaoran knew that if he didn't back up a few steps the skin would burn right off his face. Unfortunately, in doing so his foot caught on a tree root and he abruptly fell over backward.

Kero saw Syaoran's flustered face and laughed. "Try not to overheat the game, kid!" Syaoran scowled, but he couldn't really scowl at Kero since he was inside the game.

Sakura's angel look disappeared. "Eh? Syaoran-kun? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Syaoran said, scrambling back to his feet, "I just didn't know… there was a tree there."

They stared up at it for a moment in awe. "It's _huge_," Sakura said quietly.

Syaoran looked thoughtful. "Well I'll climb the tree and look for anything suspicious," he said.

"I'll come too," Sakura said, her wings already forming on her back.

Sakura flew up to the very top of the tree while Syaoran nimbly jumped from branch to branch like he'd done it a million times before. "Nice footwork, Li," Eriol commented.

Syaoran's head poked out of the leaves on the very top of the tree at the same time Sakura reached the top. He was about to thank Eriol for complimenting him for once, but what he saw made his words seem like they didn't matter and the breath catch in his throat. In front of them was a long expanse of trees, all much shorter than this one but still plenty tall. But beyond that… the trees just stopped dead and the grass turned into a wasteland of black, dead earth. The desolate plain was specked with monsters, and there, sticking up from the horizon like a lone tree the desert, was a massive volcano, pouring out puffs of billowing smoke.

No one spoke a word for the longest time, until finally Kero breathlessly said, "Woooooow."

"…Sakura," Syaoran said frowning, "That volcano… do you sense…?"

Sakura nodded. "I do. The dragon's aura. It's strong, but it feels so cold and empty…" She shivered.

"Well he _is_ from the underworld…" Syaoran said.

"Eeeeehhhh? I don't sense anything…!" Kero whined.

Yue pushed him out of the way of the TV screen. "That's because you're not in the game, _idiot…_"

Ruby frowned. "He's less of an idiot than _you,_" she said. "_You_ thought this whole thing was a _joke_!"

Yue whirled around. "_I_ just didn't understand why Clow would put Sakura in _danger_, but _now_ I know it was for his _own selfish amusement_," he said in a cold voice.

Ruby looked away. "Mister grumpy pants," she muttered.

"I heard that!" Yue shrieked.

"So?"

"Whaddya _mean,_ 'so'?"

"I _wanted_ you to hear it, mister grumpy pants!"

"Shut up!"

"_You _shut up!"

Kero and Eriol sweatdropped. "They sound like little children…" Kero said. Eriol laughed inwardly, but Kero saw him. "Why do you always laugh when they fight?" he asked.

Eriol didn't take his eyes off them, and his amused expression never faded. "Because I know why they're fighting."

"So do I," Kero said. "It's because they hate each other." Eriol still had his 'this is funny' face. "…Right?" Kero asked, becoming a little confused. "Right? Hey Clow, er, Eriol, are you listing to me? It's because they hate each other, right? _Right?_"

"On the contrary," Eriol said, but he stopped his sentence there, leaving Kero with nothing but a pile of confusion.

"Clow, why do you make me have to put up with her?!" Yue screeched at the top of his lungs, pointing at Ruby.

"Oh, now you're whining to him, eh?" Ruby asked. "What a sissy!"

"No one said you have to be here, Yue," Eriol said in his Clow voice.

Ruby's voice had a mocking tone. "Yeah lover boy," she said, "You can just make your way out the door, and take all your hopes of a relationship with you! I'd rather kiss a _slug!_"

Yue's face turned pink. "What makes you think I care?!"

"Hmm, I don't know," Ruby said sarcastically. "Maybe it's the fact that it's easy to tell when you're blushing, since your face is so pale to begin with." She gave him a wicked smile. "I could be wrong, though."

"That's it, I'm _outta _here!!" Yue yelled, kicking the door open. Eriol, Kero and Ruby sat in silence, listening to him storm down the stairs and finally slam the front door.

"He'll be back," Eriol said knowingly. "He'll definitely be back."

Ruby fell backwards onto the bed, tired from all the yelling. "I _wish_ he'd stay away."

Eriol looked at her curiously. "Do you?" he questioned. "That's not what _I _thought." He turned his back to her, staring at the TV. "I _could _bewrong,though."

Ruby stared at the ceiling and said nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

Chappy 7

Sakura and Syaoran were making their way through the forest. "…Yue-san left, didn't he…?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Eriol said, "but he'll be back."

"How are you so sure?" Kero asked.

Eriol laughed. "Just trust me, Keroberos."

Kero sweatdropped. "But before… you admitted that you needed to be sent to the insane asylum…"

This time Eriol sweatdropped. "Oh… did I say that…?"

"Yeah you did," Ruby said.

"She's right," Syaoran said, "I heard you say it. You were saying it as we were waking up."

Eriol frowned. "But you always say I'm insane, because for some reason unknown you seem to hate me, even though I have the memories of your own ancestor!"

Syaoran stopped walking and yelled, "You know the reason I don't like you!"

"Li, I don't love Sakura…" Eriol started. "At least, not in the way you do."

"Yeah," Syaoran grumbled, "I know. But you tend to play with me like a toy anyway when she's around."

Sakura sweatdropped. "I sorta lost my way in this conversation…"

"Good," Syaoran muttered curtly. Sakura cocked her head at him, and searching for words he said, "Well, I mean, it wasn't important anyway…"

Sakura stared at him for a minute and then smiled. "Even if you're in a bad mood you're nice to me, Syaoran-kun. Arigatou!" And she kept walking.

Syaoran's face turned red as he stared after her. _'She's always nice to me, too,' _He thought.

Eriol smiled. "Sakura-san is cute in that outfit, isn't she, Li?"

Syaoran's blush darkened. "Th-That's not what… I mean… I wasn't…!"

Sakura waved from up ahead. "Syaoran-kuuuuun! Are you coming?"

"Y-Yeah!" he called, starting toward her.

"You seem to have really cheered her up about being in the game," Eriol said to Syaoran. Syaoran didn't respond.

"Hey Syaoran-kun," Sakura asked. "…Which way were we supposed to go again?" They looked around them and saw trees in all directions. "Eriol-kun? Ruby-san? Kero-chan? Do any of you remember which way…?"

"Why don't you look on your walkthrough, stuffed animal?" Syaoran said to Kero.

Ignoring the insult, Kero said, "It doesn't tell exactly which way to go through the forest, but it does say that there are two pairs of fairies roaming around. Both pairs _look _extremely kind, but…"

"…But what?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"One pair will lead you to the exit, and the other pair… will try to kill you."

Sakura's eyes got wide and tears started to form. She was trying hard not to cry, but finally the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. Syaoran could no longer hold back his anger. "Hiragizawa, this is all _your _fault! Why did you do this anyway?? Was it really just for your own amusement?!"

Eriol sweatdropped. "Well sorta, but it was Keroberos's idea!"

Steam shot out of Syaoran's ears. "_BAKA!! IDIOT!! MORON!! _I shoulda figured it was you, darn it, stuffed animal!! What are you stuffed with, moldy cheese?! Why don't you ever _think?! _Now just look at the trouble you've gotten us into!! When I get out there… Oh, when I get out there, you're gonna-!"

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura quietly interrupted. Her face was still wet and her eyes were red, but she was smiling. "I know you got mad because I was crying…" She sniffled, but her smile broadened. "…but you don't need to yell like it's the end of the world…"

Syaoran's anger instantly dissolved like popcorn dropped in water. "S-Sakura…"

Sakura looked at her shoes. "Um… thanks for always making sure I'm happy…" She proceeded to stare at her shoes for a moment longer, then stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "If we find some fairies… we'll just have to be on guard," she said. She turned around and kept walking to hide her blush.

Syaoran just stood there, mouth slightly agape, his face getting redder and redder. He didn't even bother to try and hide it. "You think he'll explode?" Kero asked.

"That would make a terrible mess," Eriol said. "But it _would _be funny."

"You _both _oughta be sent to the insane asylum," Ruby said passively, still lounging on Sakura's bed but now playing with a paddle ball.

"…Hiragizawa…?" Syaoran asked in a hazy voice, not having heard anything anyone said.

"What?" Eriol asked. There was a pause.

"…What just happened?"

Eriol laughed, amused. "Sakura gave you a kiss on the cheek. Now you'd better go catch up to her before she loses you and gets attacked by the killing fairies."

"Wh-_whaa?!_" In a flash, Syaoran was at Sakura's side.

"Hi Syaoran-kun," Sakura said. "Nice of you to join me again… Ah hah ha…"

"Well I'm here now!" Syaoran yelled in an 'I don't know what's going on but I'll try to sound like I do' voice.

Sakura blinked. "Are you okay, Syaoran-kun?" She asked.

"Yes I'm fine," he said somehow all at once. "Let's go find uh whatever we're looking for yes." All of his words tripped and fell on top of themselves, finally landing in a jumbled heap of letters. Against his will, Syaoran was forced to say, "Blah."

Sakura stopped walking and stared. "Uh…"

Eriol laughed maniacally. "Wah ha ha ha!!" he snorted. "I think Li's brain flew out his ear and went to the moon!"

"Just like you…" Ruby and Kero muttered in unison.

Eriol made a pouty face. "Heeeeey…"

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura was saying, "Please get, uh, sane…" She put on a scared face. "What if those evil fairies come…?"

Syaoran seemed to instantaneously regain his composure. "Eh? The fairies… Oh." He pulled out his sword and stepped in front of Sakura. "We'll just have to be on guard if we meet some."

Sakura sweatdropped. "That's… what I said before, but… you were… uh…"

"Never mind," Syaoran said. "Maybe we'll find our way out of here without running into _any_ fairies, good or bad."


	8. Chapter 8

Chappy 8

The door to Sakura's room burst open to reveal Yue, panting like he'd flown halfway around the world and back. "Look who's back," Ruby said casually. "It's mister grumpy pants."

Eriol was looking at her curiously. _'She acts bored, but her eyes are overjoyed,' _he thought, stifling a laugh. _'This is fun to watch!'_

"Ignoring that comment," Yue said to Ruby, "I have a present for you."

Ruby chucked her paddle ball at his head. "Stop trying to win my heart, angel boy. It ain't gonna work."

Yue gave her a wicked smile. "Aw, but I went all that way to find this present for you!" he said, his eyes dancing with pure evil.

Ruby got up. "Fine. But I don't see a present in your grimy little hands."

"Oh, but there is!" Yue said with enthusiasm.

"Let's see it then," Ruby said frowning.

"Okay…" Yue's smile became even more wicked as he held his closed fist right in front of Ruby's face. He looked up at her, not wanting to miss her reaction, and finally opened his fist.

Ruby drew back so fast she tripped over her own feet and fell onto the floor, missing the bed by an inch. "What… What _is _that thing?!" she screeched, anger and disgust obvious in her voice.

Ruby's disgust was Yue's pleasure. He gave his eternal thanks to the slimy creature wiggling in his hand. "It's a slug," he said in a gleeful voice. "Why? Don't you like them?" His wicked smile appeared again.

By now Eriol knew exactly what was going on and was grinning ear-to-ear. "You would rather kiss a slug than kiss Yue, remember Ruby?" he said, trying not to laugh.

Yue bent down on one knee and took Ruby's hand, placing the slug gently into her palm. She sat stone still in shock, not even daring to breathe. Yue leaned over so his face was right in front of hers, and then whispered with a devilish grin, "Have fun!"

Ruby's eyes went wild. She stood bolt upright and shook her hand madly, flinging the slug off and pasting it to the wall. "You're all _MAD!!! _You _ALL _need to take a nice visit to the insane asylum!! I mean, I knew _Eriol_-kunwas a psycho, but…!"

Again, Eriol made a pouty face and said, "Heeeeey…"

Yue casually plucked the slug off the wall and Ruby shivered. "How can you _touch _that thing?!" She asked in disbelief.

Yue smirked. "Don't like slugs I see," he said with a hostile smile. "But that's too bad, because you have to kiss the slug anyway. You said so yourself, that-"

"That she'd rather kiss a slug than kiss _you_," Eriol interrupted. Ruby and Yue both looked at him with an 'eh?' face. Eriol smiled. "You said you'd rather kiss a slug than Yue, right Ruby?"

"Th-that's what I said…" Ruby told him hesitantly. "But… doesn't that mean I still have to kiss the slug?"

"No," Eriol said, "you have a second option, too. If you really can't bring yourself to kiss that slug…"

Ruby stared at him, pondering for a second what he'd said. Suddenly, she realized what he meant and her face instantly flushed red. "Y-You're not saying… that I… I-I-I mean he… if I don't…"

"If you don't wanna kiss the slug, you'll have to kiss Yue," Eriol finished for her.

"Wait, what?!" Yue asked in confusion and a little agitation. "Where did that come from? I just wanted to watch her kiss the dumb slug!"

"Yeah, but Clow's right," Kero said. "If she can't kiss the slug, then that proves she'd rather kiss you. She's gotta pick one." At this he snickered.

"I don't _gotta_ do _anything!_" Ruby shrieked, jumping to her feet. "Nobody tells Ruby Moon what to do!"

"Except me," Eriol said. "I made you, remember? Now, either kiss the slug or kiss Yue."

Ruby looked back and forth, her eyes shocked and her cheeks red as her hair. Yue smiled evilly. _'Ha, she'll have to kiss the slug, now!' _He thought._ 'She'd never kiss me… Would she?' _He looked at her again. She was breathing fast, and her eyes were… unsettled, afraid. _'She's blushing, too,' _Yue thought to himself. _'Does… Does she really like me?'_

No sooner had Yue had these thoughts when Ruby's head dropped, hiding her eyes with her bangs. Slowly and shakily she walked up to him, and after a long time she murmured, "Make sure Sakura-chan stays safe." And she shoved him aside and burst out the door, sprinting down the hall.

There was a long, long silence. Yue was sure he heard her sniffle as the sound of her footsteps faded. "Oh dear," Eriol said, "We seem to have lost one Ruby."

Yue crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "You're the one that drove her away, you know," he said, eyes closed. "I wasn't trying to-"

"I know." Eriol had randomly switched to the Clow voice again. "Of course you weren't trying to get her to kiss you. You didn't even care if she kissed the slug, did you? You just wanted to see Ruby… normal, screaming, angry-at-you Ruby. Didn't you?"

Yue opened his silver eyes and stared at the ground, feeling his face get hot. But before he could answer, a voice came from the TV. "Argh, we've been walking forever and everything looks the same!" Syaoran said agitated.

"We'll never find the way out…" Sakura moaned. "My feet hurt… And now did Ruby-san leave?"

Eriol opened his mouth but before he could speak Yue said, "Yeah… she did." Eriol looked at him curiously, but he was still leaning against the wall, arms folded, looking at the floor.

"Hey… Hey! What's that?!" Syaoran asked, pointing into the trees. There was a bluish light shining that was getting closer and closer to them. Suddenly there was a blinding flash, and in front of Sakura and Syaoran were two fairies.

They both smiled at Syaoran and Sakura angelically. "Now what do we have here?" one said.

In rhyming response the other one said, "They're lost travelers, I hear."

"Um, yeah…" Sakura said, "Uh, we-"

"You wish to slay the dragon," the first one chanted.

"That's nonsense! Now you're bragging!" The second one declared with a smile. Syaoran and Sakura glanced at each other, but then the first spoke again.

"We'll lead you where you want to get, and simply in return…" She smiled sweetly.

"…You must give to us your soul to take to hell where it will burn!" the second said with glee.

Then their eyes turned a vile red, and with horrifying smiles on their faces, they said in unison, "NOW YOU _DIE!!_"


	9. Chapter 9

Chappy 9

Sakura and Syaoran ran for their lives. "Crap! Just our luck to find the killing fairies!" Syaoran cried out in anger.

"What do we do?!" Sakura's voice was clearly more focused on being terrified than being angry.

"Perhaps you should find a way to defeat them," Eriol suggested.

"No, DUH!!" Syaoran bellowed.

"Any ideas, Yue?" Eriol asked, glancing toward the figure still leaning against the wall.

Yue looked up. "Use your cards," he said, his voice lacking expression. He looked down again.

Eriol stared at him, then in a soft voice asked, "Remember what Ruby said to you before she ran away?"

Yue's head jerked back up. "How did you hear…?!"

"I have magic powers, remember?" Eriol reminded him.

Yue slapped himself in the head. "Whatever," he said, walking over to the TV and sitting down on Sakura's bed.

"HELLO!! WE NEED HELP HERE!!" Syaoran screamed. The fairies cackled evilly and shot a purple spell at Sakura and Syaoran, knocking them to the ground.

Yue clutched the covers on the bed. "Hm… how about…"

"Thunder!" Sakura yelled, not wanting to cut him off but knowing she had to do something. Lightning crashed down on the fairies… but went right through them. "Firey!" The fire blasted through them, but didn't harm them at all. "Wood!" Vines and branches twisted around the pursuers, but swept right through their intangible bodies. Running out of ideas, Sakura cried, "Dash!," grabbed Syaoran's hand, and ran as fast as she could away from the spells being shot this way and that.

"A card that attacks it physically won't work," Yue said to Sakura. "You'll need to immobilize them somehow."

"Please—put—me—down!" Syaoran cried, hanging on for dear life to Sakura's hand. He was flapping behind her like a flag in the wind.

Sakura stopped on a dime and Syaoran went hurtling into a tree. "G-gomenasai…" she said with a sweat drop.

A purple spell suddenly blasted Sakura and blew her backwards, slammed her into Syaoran as he was getting up, and slammed them both into the tree. "Fools!" The fairies hissed in a demonic voice. "You can't hope to escape! Either give us your souls, or die the painful way!"

"Why'd you pick such a violent game, Eriol-kuuun?!" Sakura wailed.

"It was Keroberos's idea, remember?" Eriol said. "He was over at my house while you were sleeping."

Yue suddenly jumped to his feet. "That's it! Use the Sleep card!"

Sakura didn't need to hear it twice. "Sleep!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, throwing the card in the air and activating it with the tip of her wand. The sleep fairy came out of the card, sprinkling sleep dust onto the maniacal killing fairies and giggling as she did so. Slowly, the fairies' eyelids drooped, and finally they fell to the ground, sleeping soundly while lying on top of one another. "Yay! I did it!" Sakura yelled with joy.

"Great… now could you please get off me?" Syaoran asked with more than a little agitation.

Sakura quickly stood up. "Sorry again, Syaoran-kun…"

"That's okay," Syaoran said, brushing himself off. "I only got slammed into a tree twice in a row, then had to endure you sitting on me while you waited for the Sleep card to work." His tone was cynical, but afterward he grinned.

Sakura sweatdropped. "Eh heh…" She giggled awkwardly.

"At least the exit to the forest is right in front of you now," Kero observed. "Look, there's the volcano."

Sakura and Syaoran looked up and saw a massive mountain with smoke pouring out the top. "Come on," Syaoran said with a serious note to his voice, "let's go before those fairies wake up."

Yue started to walk toward the door to Sakura's room. "Just where do you think you're going?" Eriol asked.

Yue looked at him. "Out," he said.

Eriol narrowed his eyes. "Sakura's about to get to the most dangerous part of the game, and you're going 'out'?" At this he smiled.

Yue didn't think it was funny. "But I've got to—"

"Got to what?" Eriol cut him off. "As far as I know, the only thing you've _got _to do is protect Sakura, because _I'm _telling you to!"

Yue scowled at Eriol. "What makes you think I'm doing it for _you?_"

Eriol smiled. "Hm, this is a change of pace. As far as I know, you were _devastated _when I so called 'died', but now you're hissing at me like an angry cat. I wonder if that's because" -Eriol's grin broadened- "There's now someone you care about more than me, perhaps?"

"Of course there is," Yue said slowly, his voice level. "Sakura's my new master."

"Then it's curious that you just tried to leave when she's about to get to the most dangerous part," Eriol said, with a level voice as well. "Someone you care about… _more _than your new master?"

Yue's face went red and his eyes widened. He stared straight into Eriol's knowing eyes, silently thinking one thought over and over in his mind.

'_He knows… He knows… I wish he didn't, but he knows…'_

"I even know what you're thinking!" Eriol said smiling.

Yue's face got even redder and he yelled, "What?!" But eyeing Kero's utterly confused face, he sighed and walked back over to Eriol, slumping down next to him on the bed. He looked down at the floor, feeling horrible inside.

Would Ruby ever forgive him?

Eriol leaned over and whispered into Yue's ear. "If you really care about her, you should do what she asked you. Then, afterward, you can go find her."

Yue looked up and stared at Eriol for the longest time, but instead of denying having anything to do with Ruby, he just slowly nodded, and then turned his attention back to the TV screen.

Again, Eriol leaned over to Yue, and this time he whispered, "I'm sure she'll forgive you."

Yue stared at the TV in silence, and not diverting his gaze he finally murmured, "I sure hope you're right."


	10. Chapter 10

Chappy 10

An extremely massive volcano towered before Syaoran and Sakura, its sides eroded from the work of many years' winds; its rocks charred and blackened from countless eruptions. It was obviously still active; smoke billowed out in huge gray puffs and filled the air. "W-w-w-we have to go _in _there?!" Sakura asked in bewilderment, shaking all over.

"I guess so," Syaoran said seriously. He shivered slightly. "Ngh, that dragon's creepy aura is even getting to _me _now."

"That's because you're so close," Eriol said. "The dragon is most definitely in that volcano."

Sakura's teeth chattered like she was standing in Antarctica with a bathing suit on.

"Well get on with it," Yue said impatiently. Eriol smirked a sideways smirk. Kero was still oblivious to… well, everything except the video game.

Syaoran took Sakura's hand and squeezed it tightly. "We can do this," he murmured in her ear. "I'm sure we can do this."

Sakura seemed to calm down a little. Slowly she held up her star wand. "Fly," she said weakly, her voice quivering. Her angel wings materialized on her back, and she gripped Syaoran's hand. "…Ready?" she asked softly.

Syaoran looked into her eyes and nodded. "Ready."

And thus, Sakura thrust herself upward, carrying Syaoran with her. She flew all the way to the top, hesitated long enough for one last violent shudder, then plunged into the smoky air, down to the depths of the volcano.

The duo raced inside, eyes watering from the smoke. "It's hard to see… and breathe!" Sakura gasped.

Coughing, Syaoran said, "Use… Windy… to make… an air bubble… around us!"

Sakura did as she was told. "Windy!" Windy came out of her card and surrounded Sakura and Syaoran with clean, breathable air. "Ah… that's better…" Sakura sighed.

"Only one problem," Syaoran said. "How do we see?"

Sakura looked up and saw black smoke all around them. "Oh. Uh…"

"Use the Glow card," Yue said. Eriol smiled at him.

"Eh? Oh! Right! Glow!" Many glowing orbs that looked like fireflies flew out of the card and cast a dim light throughout the volcano, enabling sight. Sakura smiled. "Arigatou, Yue-san!"

Yue stared at the TV screen, then turned his head away and said, "You're my master. I'm supposed to help you." Eriol's grin broadened.

Dim, green light danced on the walls of the inside of the volcano as the glow card took effect. Sakura looked from side to side. "Haaaa… it's so pretty, ne Syaoran-kun?"

But Syaoran wasn't paying attention. "Um… S-S-Sakura…" he stammered, "You might want…to look down…"

Sakura's eyes widened and her head whirled to look below her. And what she saw… was a pair of hostile, blood red, glowing eyes staring up at her.

And then… it lunged.

Lava burst out in all directions as a massive, jet black dragon hurtled upward, teeth bared, straight toward Sakura and Syaoran. As it lunged for its target, its jaws parted, and a column of blue flame spewed from its mouth… sure to kill them instantly.

"Shield!"

Hearts pounding, Sakura and Syaoran watched as a shield formed around them just milliseconds before they were burned alive. Both were wide-eyed and speechless as they stared out at flames – everywhere except in their bubble – licking the charred walls of the volcano. Finally, the flames stopped, and there was dead silence.

"Woah… talk about a close call." Kero said.

Syaoran snapped out of his trance and scowled. "That's _ALL _you have to say?! We were nearly fried!!"

"Um, Syaoran-kun…" Sakura pointed up, but there was no need to do so. The dragon was perfectly capable of letting its enemies know it was there. With an earsplitting roar, it swirled around and now lunged down at Syaoran and Sakura. "Syaoran-kun, I can't… hold you up much longer…" Sakura said. She flew toward a ledge jutting out of the rocky wall, put him down, and dropped to her hands and knees, the shield fading and the angel wings disintegrating off her back.

"Sakura! What's wrong?!" Syaoran yelled.

Sakura looked up at him, with some effort. "I'm just… tired…"

"That's not good." Eriol spoke in Clow's voice, his tone dead serious. "She's nearly out of magic."

"What?!" Kero screeched. "What does that mean?!"

"It means," Eriol said frowning, "she won't be able to use her cards. She… won't be able to protect herself."

Syaoran's eyes shot open. "No…" he whispered, almost inaudibly. "…NO!! That won't happen!" He gingerly set Sakura down, who was almost unconscious, and whipped out his sword. "Sakura may not be able to protect herself… but that does NOT mean that no one will protect her!!!" He grabbed Sakura and jumped to another, much larger ledge, just as the dragon crashed down on the old one, shattering it into bits. He put her down again and held his sword in front of him. "All right, Dragon!!" he yelled. "Come and face me!!"

The dragon made a knowing rumble in its throat, sensing the challenge. It beat its gigantic wings and almost blew Syaoran away as it landed, but he stood his ground.

Syaoran and the dragon now stood face to face.

"If you want Sakura…" Syaoran growled through his teeth, "…you'll have to go through ME!!" He ran forward and sprang at the dragon, sword raised. The dragon dodged and swiped at him with its claws, but he jumped out of the way. They continued to fight for several minutes, one-on-one, while Eriol, Yue and Kero watched in horror. Even one blow could be fatal. But finally, the dragon knocked Syaoran's sword away. It skidded across the rocky ground, screeching and clanking off the bumps, and finally came to a halt… ten meters away.

Syaoran was cornered.

The dragon swatted at him, forcing him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him. He struggled, but it held him there with its paw. It breathed in slowly, gathering up its flame breath… and released it straight at Syaoran.

"…Time!"

The flames stopped in their tracks, just centimeters from Syaoran's face.

Sakura was weakly on her feet, knees together, with one hand holding her wand and the other clutching the wall for support.

"Yay Sakura!!" Kero chanted. "I knew she could do it!!"

But Eriol's frown didn't disappear. "That card… uses a lot of magic."

Syaoran saw his chance. He threw the dragon's paw aside and jumped to his feet. He grabbed his sword, ran at the dragon, and thrust it through its heart.

Time unfroze. The dragon collapsed…

…and so did Sakura.


	11. Chapter 11

Chappy 11

The volcano became instantly dark as the light-giving orbs returned to the glow card, and the bubbles of air surrounding Syaoran and Sakura disappeared.

Yue's eyes widened. "No…"

"Sakura? What happened?" Kero asked, worried.

"She's run out of magic, Keroberos. She can't do a thing. She's unconscious." Eriol's voice was surprisingly calm considering the situation.

Yue turned to look at Eriol. "…I thought… that whenever you gave Sakura a challenge… If it was too hard for her… you saved her, didn't you?" His voice began to rise. "Why aren't you doing that now? Are you just going to let her die?!"

Eriol closed his eyes and smiled. "I would certainly save her… if I needed to."

Yue clenched his fists so hard they shook. "What do you _mean, _'if you needed to'? If there was any time you need to, it's now!!"

Eriol opened his grey-blue eyes and spoke with Clow's knowing voice. "I believe you're wrong, Yue. Because there's someone who would never let Sakura die; someone who cares about her more than you, or me; more than Keroberos, or even the Sakura cards… And I trust that he will get her to safety."

Yue and Kero's eyes followed Eriol's to the TV screen. An unconscious Sakura was gently held in Syaoran's arms as he wall-jumped from side to side up the rocky walls of the pitch dark volcano.

Yue yelled even louder. "What?! One slip up and they'll both fall to their _deaths!_ What is he _thinking!?_" But his voice was more worried than angry.

"Yeah! The kid can't even _see!_" Kero joined in.

But Eriol smiled. "Calm down, you two. For one thing, Li has some magic himself. When he and Sakura-san met, he had more magic than she did. And also… I am confident that he won't slip. He's very good at jumping, but more importantly… when you really care about someone, it's hard to bear when something bad happens to them, whether they've been hurt physically… or simply had their feelings hurt." Eriol glanced at Yue. "…And I think _you_ know what I'm talking about." Yue bit his lip and looked down.

A voice came from the TV. "I promise… I won't… let her fall." Syaoran said coughing.

"Oh yeah, he can't breathe, either," Kero sneered. "This is going to end well, huh Yue?"

Yue was silent for a moment and then said, "I… I trust him. He… won't let her fall." Eriol smiled wide, knowing exactly what Yue was thinking without having to use magic to find out.

Kero stared at Yue. "I thought you were just doubting him a second ago!" he said. "What's with the random switch?"

"Did you completely ignore my speech?" Eriol asked.

"No," Kero said, "but I still don't see how loving her is gonna lessen his chances of falling!"

"If it was you, would _you _let her fall?" Yue blurted out.

Kero blinked. "Well no, but I can fly," he said, wiggling his wings.

Yue hit himself in the head. "Why have you always been so _dense…_" he muttered.

Eriol snickered. "Somehow I think you would have given the same answer a little while ago, Yue. So don't accuse."

Blushing, Yue folded his arms and said, "I wouldn't have wiggled my wings…"

Eriol laughed quietly but left it at that. The three watched in silence as Syaoran jumped from wall to wall, until finally… the rock under his foot gave way.

"Gyaaaah!" Syaoran screamed, and he let go of Sakura as he fell.

"No!" Kero cried. "I knew he'd mess up! Stupid kid!!" But while Kero panicked, Yue stayed seated on the bed, although he clutched the covers. And sure enough, Syaoran managed to grab a protruding rock with one hand.

"Whoop-de-do, he saved himself," Kero said sarcastically. "NOW WHERE'S SAKURA?!"

"Be patient, Keroberos," Eriol said.

Syaoran swung back and forth, then launched himself into the air with ease and landed nimbly on his feet. Then unsheathing his sword, he took out a magic card. "Petals of wind, answer my call!" Just as Sakura fell through the thick smoke, a bed of swirling wind formed and caught her, then slowly set her down in Syaoran's arms.

Yue let out his breath. "Good job," he said, relieved.

The volcano began to rumble.

"Now what, genius?" Kero asked Eriol cynically. "That thing's gonna erupt! The kid'll never get out in time, and Sakura'll get fried!"

Yue rolled his eyes. "He just saved Sakura from plummeting to her death, and you don't even notice…" he said half to himself.

Eriol smiled at Kero. "Li is smart, Keroberos. He'll think of something."

"If he's so smart, why doesn't he just use his _own _magic to make an air bubble for him and Sakura…?" Kero asked dryly.

Hearing this, Syaoran sweatdropped. "H-heh… I… hadn't thought of that…" He quickly made an air bubble.

As Eriol and Yue sweatdropped, the volcano began to shake even more violently, and the lava below began to rise faster. "Wh-what should I do?!" Syaoran yelled.

Eriol grinned and said, "You'll figure it out!"

"What do you mean?! There's nothing I _CAN _do!" Syaoran's voice rose an octave.

Eriol looked passive. "Mmm, yes there is. And in a desperate situation, you'll do it without even thinking, because you'll use any means to save Sakura-san." His voice changed to Clow's. "That is, if it really _is_…" His glasses suddenly caught a glare and a small, mischievous smile crossed his lips. "…a _desperate _situation."

Suddenly and swiftly, the bubbling lava below shot up in a burst of speed too fast for anyone to possibly escape. All Yue and Kero had time to do was gasp, and the lava was upon Syaoran and Sakura.

"Water Dragon, come forth!!"

There was suddenly so much steam that Eriol, Kero and Yue couldn't see what had happened at all. "Sakura!!!" Kero yelled.

Yue was staring at the TV screen, eyes wide with horror. He whirled around to face Eriol. "…_You _did this," he said, voice rising. "_You _made the volcano erupt!! But…" his voice softened again and he looked at the ground, eyes hidden with silver hair. "…why?"

Eriol still held a calm smile. "Look," he said, and pointed at the screen.

Yue and Kero turned to see Syaoran, perfectly unharmed, with Sakura in his arms and sword in hand, a magic card clutched between his fingers. He was standing on a round piece of rock that was flying upward at an incredible rate, propelled by the lava that was blasting up from below.

Kero's and Yue's mouths dropped open. "How…" started Kero.

"He used his water magic to harden the lava and make a platform for himself," Yue said, astonishment in his voice. "That's… that's genius."

Eriol chuckled. "I told you he could do it. He just needed a little nudge, that's all."

Kero sweatdropped. "You made the volcano _erupt _and you call that a _nudge…?_"

"Yep!" Eriol proclaimed, grinning.

Yue and Kero looked at each other. "…He's insane," they agreed at the same time.

Eriol made his signature pouty face. "Heeeeey…"

"_YOU _made the volcano erupt?!" Syaoran screamed.

Still smiling, Eriol pointed out, "But it worked, didn't it? You saved Sakura-san!"

"Why I oughta…" Syaoran started, but at that moment his platform left the volcano and started to fall toward the ground, lava following close behind. He ground his teeth together. "I don't usually use this to fly, but…" Syaoran managed to pull out a different card while somehow still holding Sakura. "Petals of wind, answer my call!" And he jumped with all his might off the rock, the magic wind carrying him through the sky.

"Wowwww, I didn't know you could do that, kid!" Kero said, amazed.

"Usually… I… can't…" Syaoran responded. The wind faltered a little and Syaoran fell a short distance, but he regained his flight, using all his strength to do so.

"Indeed, using a wind card to fly is very difficult," Eriol said. "It can catch people who are falling and set them down gently, but it's not meant to carry someone."

"Thanks… for the… support," Syaoran snapped through clenched teeth.

"Well, why do you think I made a Fly card?" Eriol defended himself.

Finally, Syaoran reached the edge of the forest. He came to a shaky landing, hitting the ground hard with his feet. He set Sakura down and then fell to his hands and knees, panting hard.

"I'll bet that took a lot of magic," Kero said, "but good job, kid. I thought Sakura was a goner."

"Thanks," Syaoran said breathlessly. But only one thought was going through his mind. _'I did it… She's safe… Sakura's safe.'_


	12. Chapter 12

Chappy 12

"Sakura." Syaoran shook her slightly once he'd regained some of his strength. "Sakura, wake up." He shook her a little harder. "Sakuraaaaa…" Sakura didn't even twitch.

"Is she breathing?" Yue asked with more than a little worry in his voice. "Or is she…" He bit his lip, unable to finish the sentence.

Kero's eyes widened. "No…! You… you were wrong, Eriol, the stupid kid _couldn't_ save her! And now, now she's…" He burst into tears. "Saaaaakuuuuuraaaaaa!!!" he bawled.

Syaoran rolled his eyes. "Relax, she's breathing fine," he assured them. "It just looks like she's…"

"…Sleeping," Eriol finished. He grinned widely. "Like a little angel, right Li?"

Syaoran's face turned pink. "Uh…"

"But why isn't she waking up?" Yue asked, saving Syaoran an awkward answer. Kero flew over to the computer to look at the walkthrough.

"I'm not sure," Eriol answered Yue. "But she's cute when she's asleep, isn't she, Li?" he said, not giving up.

"Well she… I mean… of course, but-"

"GWAAAAAAAH!!" Kero screeched, cutting off Syaoran.

"What is it?" Yue asked. "Can she be woken up?"

Kero was making a horrible, disgusted face. "Well… _yes, _but… It says here that at the end of the game, the dragon casts a spell on the girl, putting her into a deep slumber."

"How cliché," Eriol said. "I would've expected better from game designers these days."

"Would you just focus already…?" Yue asked, obviously ticked. "I don't care about game design. I care about Sakura."

Eriol smiled. "And Ru-"

Yue punched him on the head before Kero could hear what he was saying. "How do we wake her?" He asked Kero, ignoring Eriol, who was whining and holding his head.

"That's the thing," Kero said, clearly not liking the words coming out of his own mouth. "_WE _don't." He pointed at Syaoran. "_HE _does."

"What?" Syaoran asked. "What am _I_ supposed to do?"

Kero took a deep breath and sighed. Narrowing his eyes in disgust, he said dryly, "You gotta kiss 'er, kid."

"WHAAAAT?!?!" Syaoran shrieked, taking several steps backward.

"You heard me," Kero said. "Right on the lips."

"But… I… she… I can't-"

"Do you think I _want_ you to kiss her?" Kero interjected. "But it's the only way to break the spell."

"Now that is _REALLY _cliché!" Eriol practically yelled. He made a face as something occurred to him. "Good thing _we _didn't go into the game together, huh Keroberos…"

"Ugh," Yue groaned, giving himself a face palm. "Clow, would you cut it out and _focus, _please…" Kero had a sweat drop the size of Switzerland.

"Well, I'm just saying…" Eriol said defensively.

"That didn't NEED to be said," Kero responded, trying to shove his sweat drop out the window. "Didja kiss 'er yet, kid?" he asked Syaoran.

Syaoran looked nervous. "Well… no…"

"Well what are you waiting for?" Eriol asked.

"I… I can't do it with all you watching," he said, ears reddening.

"Why not?" Kero and Eriol asked. Once again, Yue face palmed.

Syaoran didn't really know what to say to that. "Well… because… I just…"

"He just can't," Syaoran heard Yue say. Then he heard a soft 'woosh' and Eriol's voice screaming, 'Hey, that's not fair!' "You may proceed," Yue said. "I've got it covered."

"Literally…" Syaoran heard Eriol mutter.

"What is going on out there?" Syaoran asked.

"Just trust me, no one can see you," Yue said.

"Yeah, because your stupid wings are in the way!" Eriol said to Yue, trying to push him out of the way. Yue, being bigger and stronger, didn't budge an inch.

"Just do it already," Kero said, then muttered, "get it over with."

"I…" Syaoran took a breath. "Okay. Here goes." He knelt down next to Sakura, whose face looked even more innocent than normal in her slumber. He leaned over until his face was inches from hers, then stopped. He felt his face heat up and his heart beat faster. _'I hope I can do this…'_

"Oh wait!" Eriol realized. "I can make Yue's wings disappear!"

Syaoran hurriedly but gently pressed his lips to Sakura's. After about three seconds, she twitched and her eyes opened slightly. Syaoran pulled away, and just couldn't help smiling.

"Syaoran…kun…?" Sakura asked in an out-there voice.

Yue's wings disappeared in a burst of light. "Eh?!" Yue hissed, "Why you-"

"Shh," Eriol said. "I may have missed the kiss but I'm not going to miss their moment!"

Yue just crossed his arms and sat down on the bed. "As long as I can have my wings back afterward…"

Syaoran was so filled with joy that he didn't even hear Eriol. "You're awake," he said to Sakura. He helped her sit up, and his eyes filled with warmth. "You're finally awake." And he kept smiling.

Sakura blinked a few times, tired, but unharmed. "Syaoran-kun…" she stared at him, and then her face became angelic. "I love it when you smile like that, Syaoran-kun. And…" She looked down, blushing a little. "…that was a nice kiss."

Syaoran felt his face get hot, but then he just smiled a sideways smile and hugged Sakura. "I'm so glad you're safe," he whispered. "I couldn't be happier."

"Dawwww," Eriol cooed, completely ruining the moment, "Isn't that cuuuute?"

Syaoran stopped hugging Sakura and made a furious face at the sky. "I'm warning you, Hiragizawa…"

"What are you going to do?" Eriol taunted. "You're still inside the game!"

As if on cue, some letters appeared in the sky. "And so, the dragon was slain, and the boy and the girl lived happily ever after, together forever," Kero read. Then he added, "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Cliché," Eriol muttered. Suddenly, a shadow was cast over him, and he looked up.

"Now _what _did you say about still being inside the game?" Syaoran asked in a menacing voice.

Eriol blinked at him, wide-eyed. "Ah-hah…" He gulped. "I'm in trouble, aren't I…?"

"Oh you bet you are," Syaoran growled.

"Syaoran-kun, don't hurt him," Sakura said.

Syaoran lost his menacing look and sighed. "Fine…" he grumbled. "But he almost got us killed… several times…"

"I don't even know what _happened _after I used the Time card!" Sakura pointed out. "But I'm just glad we're safe, and that's because you protected me, Syaoran-kun. I could feel it, even while I was unconscious." And she stood up on her toes and kissed him quickly on the lips. "Arigatou, Syaoran-kun."

Syaoran's face went red as a chili pepper. "Well… I… uh…" Syaoran shook his head wildly. "It… was no problem." He then looked up at Yue. "And… Thanks," he said. "I… couldn't have done it without you. Your trust in me, and…"

"And his wings," Eriol put in, grinning.

"Speaking of which…" Yue muttered, glaring at Eriol.

"Ah yes," Eriol said. "Here you are." He raised his staff and Yue's wings materialized. "Now off you go to take care of business," he said, waving his hand at Yue. "Go on, shoo shoo!"

Yue gave him a look. "You are _SUCH _a psycho…" he said, and then walked toward the door.

"…Good luck," Eriol said in Clow's voice. And then in his head, Yue heard, _'Just speak from your heart, and you can't go wrong.'_


	13. Chapter 13

Chappy 13

Yue flew as fast as he could, searching everywhere he could think of. _'I've got to find her,' _he desperately thought. He landed on the ground to rest his wings for a few seconds. _'Please… let me find her…'_

A tiny sniffle came from somewhere several yards away, and Yue's head jerked up. Looking around, he realized he was near the Tsukimine Shrine.

He knew exactly where Ruby was.

Walking a few steps forward and rounding a corner, Yue came to the shrine gate. He stopped at the edge of the arch that stood in front of the temple. And there, perched upon the arch, were a large pair of delicate black butterfly wings.

Yue spread his wings and flew up to the top of the arch, slowly touching his feet down on the flat wood. He stood there for a moment in silence, but Ruby didn't turn around. Did she know he was there? He took a breath, ready to say something, but just before he could speak, a small, broken voice uttered one single word.

"…Why?"

Ruby's voice was so torn up that Yue knew she'd been crying the whole time. She turned her head to face him, and with tears streaking down her face, yelled, "Don't you have _any _kindness in that black hole of a heart inside your chest?! You _knew _I hated slugs!! Why would you _do _something like that to me?! Why would you set me up?! Why would you…" The anger in her voice was finally drowned out with hurt, and turning her head away again, Ruby simply said, "Why…?"

Yue felt like his voice was caught in his throat. He tried to say something, anything to comfort her, but nothing came out.

"…Do you hate me? Do you like me?" Ruby's voice was high and strained, like she was trying to hold back tears. "Or… do you…" she didn't finish the sentence. "I… I'm just confused," she said, her voice barely audible now. "I… don't know what to think anymore."

Yue walked across the arch and sat down next to Ruby. "I'm sorry," he said, and he was surprised how soft his own voice was. "…I'm _so_ sorry."

Slowly, Ruby turned her head.

Yue went on. "I didn't mean… to hurt you. Not this way. It was only supposed to be… another prank. I was…" He swallowed. "…just picking on you, like always."

Ruby looked down and began to twirl her hair. "Part of me… thought that," she nearly whispered, "_knew _that, even. But…"

"…But then what Clow said… threw you off," Yue finished. He felt his face heat up, but to his surprise, Ruby blushed, too. "I… never tried to force you to kiss me," he said quietly. "It was all Clow's idea." At this Yue clenched his fists. "He shouldn't have done that to you… But _I _shouldn't have started it. If I hadn't, he wouldn't have jumped at the chance to stir up some mischief. And I… I'm _so_ sorry…" He closed his eyes, and felt something hot and wet run down his cheek. "…Can you ever forgive me?"

And suddenly, a warm, soft touch brushed across Yue's face, lingering at the corner of his eye. He opened his eyes and saw Ruby's face, looking at him with an expression he'd never seen before.

"Don't cry," she whispered.

Yue felt himself blush, but he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. All he could do was stare into her eyes… these new, gentle eyes.

The two of them sat there, gazing at each other, Ruby's hand still on the side of Yue's cheek. Finally, Ruby lowered her arm and tore her eyes from his. "I forgive you," she said softly. "Of course I forgive you. But you know…" she paused, as if debating whether to finish the sentence, but then decided to go on. "Maybe… Eriol-kun _meant _to do what he did."

This got Yue confused. "What… what do you mean?" he asked, trying to regain his composure and stop his heart from beating right out of his chest.

"I mean… Eriol-kun probably knows us even better than _we _do, because after all, he _did _make us, and… well, I was just thinking, that…" Ruby trailed off, and seeing her face redden, Yue knew what she was going to say.

"He _meant _to hurt you, so we would both stop fighting…" He glanced at Ruby, who was shyly looking up at him.

"…and tell each other how we _really _felt," they said in unison.

Yue looked down, gathering his courage, then looked back up and stared straight into Ruby's eyes. He reached down and took her hands in his, and with his heart beating fast as lightning, he managed to choke out five words.

"…I love you, Ruby Moon."

Ruby looked hesitant at first, with a pink face and eyes that darted back and forth, avoiding Yue's. But finally, she met his gaze, and with a shy smile, said, "…I love you too, Yue."

And, as both leaned forward slowly, they smiled at each other before their lips met.

Back at Sakura's house, Eriol smiled. _'My work is done,' _he thought to himself. _'My work is finally done.'_


End file.
